HOT SPRINGS (AP) — Two Hot Springs hospitals have signed a merger agreement that would put them both under Capella Healthcare.

Capella is the parent company of National Park Medical Center in Hot Springs. The company announced Wednesday it will merge with Mercy Hospital and Mercy Clinic in Hot Springs, entities formally known as St. Joseph’s Mercy Health System.

Terms were not disclosed. A news release said it will take 60 to 90 days to pursue regulatory approval. Mercy is affiliated with the Catholic Church and the deal will also need Vatican approval.

The hospitals announced in April they were exploring a merger. The sides are taking the next step since due diligence is complete.

Capella is based in Franklin, Tenn., and owns 15 acute care and specialty hospital facilities in seven states.

Court date for ASU bomb threat suspect

JONESBORO (AP) — A 44-year-old Jonesboro man who is accused of creating a bomb scare at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro has a trial date for later this year.

A judge on Tuesday set a tentative trial date of Dec. 10 for Carlan Neugene Walker.

Walker waived formal arraignment during the Tuesday hearing and pleaded not guilty.

The Jonesboro Sun reported Walker is charged with communicating a false alarm to an educational institution, breaking or entering and theft of property, and misdemeanor criminal trespass.

Walker was arrested Sept. 18 after allegedly making a bomb threat that led to the evacuation of University Hall, the International Student Center and the surrounding parking lots.

No bomb was found.

Walker is being held on $200,000 bond in the Craighead County Jail.

Judge won’t lower bond for man in school assault

LAKE CITY (AP) — A judge refused to lower a $100,000 bond for a parent accused of assaulting three children at a Caraway elementary school.

Circuit Judge Lee Fergus on Tuesday set a pre-trial hearing for Nov. 2 for 47-year-old Michael Stayton and trial for Nov. 26.

The Jonesboro Sun reported Stayton is charged with three counts of second-degree battery, one count of terroristic threatening and three counts of false imprisonment.

Riverside Superintendent Tommy Knight said last week that Stayton entered a classroom and accused a student of being mean to his daughter and chased three students.

The children — ages 8, 9 and 10 — also told police that Stayton struck them and wouldn’t let them leave.

The alleged assault occurred after recess and before the teacher reached the classroom.

LR airport to explore wait times for security

LITTLE ROCK (AP) — Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport is embarking on a program to study the time it takes passengers to go through security.

The airport says the test program will be in place for 60 days.

The system will use Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices to test how long it takes passengers to go through a full security screening.

Airport commission chairman Jim Dailey says passengers should leave their phones on when going through security.

The airport said if the pilot program is successful it will purchase the system, known as iQueue. Once in place, passengers could use their mobile devices to access real-time updates on security wait times. The information would also be on the airport’s website.

NE Arkansas soybean harvest under way

JONESBORO (AP) — The soybean harvest is under way in northeast Arkansas, and agriculture officials say yields may rival a record set in 2004.

Officials say the 2012 harvest may yield 39 bushels of soybeans per acre, as did the 2004 crop.

University of Arkansas Soybean Agronomist Jeremy Ross said he has been seeing good yields across the state.

Ross told The Jonesboro Sun irrigation and the change in the weather late in the summer helped the crop succeed. Rainfall from Hurricane Isaac and the cooler temperatures that followed the intense heat of the peak of the drought were beneficial.